Entrepreneurs who have owned a business for a while, no matter the size – all experience moments where we lose our motivation and excitement for our companies.

Those first-year ‘hustle butterflies’ mixed with sheer will and determination that pushes you through every insane situation start-ups throw at you… can start to dwindle after a while… This feeling is completely reasonable. The Kauffman Foundation states that  70% of entrepreneurs say they have experienced burnout aka stress-induced exhaustion –  at some point in their careers. Honestly, that seems low – however, if you still want to keep going, it’s essential to find ways to reignite that passion so you are able to sustain success and fulfillment in the long run.

Today, I’ll lay out common challenges seasoned entrepreneurs face and ideas on how to weave in some new creativity to overcome them. I broke down these ideas into 3 levels of effort, light, medium and heavy – based on what I believe to be their level of difficulty, effort, the time needed, and possible positive effect on your business.

Although any freelancer, contractor, or self-employed person can use this information this episode is specifically geared toward those who have owned their own business for 7+ years. Why? Because 7 years is a long time to own your own business so if you’re approaching that milestone, are in it now, or are well past it, congratulations to you!

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SEVEN YEARS

The 7-year mark is well documented throughout history as a significant timestamp.

For example. The expression: the 7-year itch is a phrase popularized in the 1950s referring to the time frame when married couples felt their marriage was getting a little… Rusty is around the edges, and it’s backed by decades of actual data stating this is true. (The phrase has since expanded to indicate cycles of dissatisfaction not only in interpersonal relationships but in any situation such as working a full-time job or buying a house, where a decrease in happiness and satisfaction is often seen over long periods of time)

And astrologically speaking, this timeframe holds significance as well. In astrology, what’s known as a ‘seven-year cycle’ can dramatically shift our reality and human existence. Every seven years, there are shifts and changes in the cosmos that influence the energies in our lives in major ways. It’s said that every seven years acts as a catalyst for human lives, whether that’s on a collective scale or personal scale.

Research by the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine says that our skin is regenerated in 7 days. 

There are seven chakras in our body.

7 layers to the skin

7 is significant in Stoicism because it represents the seven spheres of influence: the body, the mind, the emotions, the perceptions, the impressions, the will, and the soul.

A topic such as Business Longevity fascinates me because I know the sheer effort it takes to keep something going for any period of time, especially something that you created all on your own. And of course how to maintain a positive and motivated mindset, even during challenging times when you’ve entered the “I’m getting bored with this stage”. 

By the way – Looking back on my entrepreneurial journey it comes as no surprise to me that 7 years into my business I when pivoted to events and in-person marketing because I admit it – I was getting bored.  I had spent years doing the exact same thing day in and day out (read – consistency), and even though it worked beautifully and my client roster was full – Pivoting and incorporating a few things we will talk about today really did make me excited for my company again. And I’m glad I made the effort because it’s not that my desire to make an impact on the world had changed or I was questioning my skills, it’s just that there is a big difference between lust and longevity.

Alright, let’s go through 3 stages of effort here: Light, Medium, and Hard. Again these are in order based on what I believe to be their level of difficulty, effort, the time needed, and possible positive effect on your business.

LIGHT 

Remember Your Why
Sit in this and take the time to remember what your big WHY was. Was it to prove to yourself that you could do it? Was it to provide for your family? Was it bring an idea to life? Was it to show that your skills had a place in the world? Was it to help those in need? What was it?  Take this one seriously. Sit in the answer and see if it brings a smile to your face. I’ve often seen where revisiting this one question can be the cure-all. Can’t remember all the impact you’ve had? Go through the testimonials from years past you received. Go through photos of you in your early years and laugh at how scrappy you were. Remember how it felt to get your first client, your first paid invoice, your heart pumping out of your body when you decided to go for it all – and you knew failure was not an option.

Change Job Titles Around
Does not need to be real, just seeing yourself called something new can instantly change your perception of what you do in the world and in your business. Make up a new title for yourself. We all call ourselves, Owner/Founder/CEO. Try something new. Are you a copywriter? Your new title is Whisperer Of Grand Tales. Are you a photographer? Your new title is Official Visual Ambassador. Are you a Hairstylist, now you are an Alchemist Of The Crown. Infuse a little imagination into it and it could just spark your confidence to keep going.

Throw A Party
Just throw a party. This could fall under any level depending on the level of party you want to hold. Maybe it’s just for your team, maybe it’s for your top clients, or maybe it’s just for you! Is there a business anniversary coming up (your 7th year in business perhaps?), signed a big new client, got rid of a pesky client, had your article published, and started a podcast. It’s party time.

Make Fun Of A Fail
We tend to play so-called ‘fails’ on repeat in our heads. No matter how successful we are, one ‘fail’ keeps nagging at us. Instead, make fun of it, and turn the whole situation into a comic cartoon with funny voices. This psychological technique helps to re-wire the memory and eases the tension you are causing yourself. Remember failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of it. 

Take Back Something You Automated That You Loved
I’d assume that if you have been in business for over 7 years you have some type of help. Sometimes we optimize too much of the business and delegate everything – but then – we become Managers instead of creators. And it’s odd to become a manager for 2 reasons, one, you might not be any good at it, and 2 you didn’t set out to have a creative entrepreneurial career to become a manager!

Create a new freebie download or guide and give it away
Another light one is to create a new download or a free guide to give away. I also would assume here that most of us have a newsletter, and with that newsletter, we give them a freebie away, right? That’s pretty common practice these days. So maybe you just make a new one. You, could have a second email list or a third, okay? You can put those into segments, or you could just scrap the whole thing and go, you know what? I’ve had this up and running for a while. It does okay, but either revamp it or just completely, you know, create something new. I’m, I’m sure you have new ideas in your head.

Get New Headshots
As you know, I love getting new headshots. I’ve talked about it many times before. It’s such a great opportunity to not only get headshots and of course, put them on every channel possible to update the overall look and feel of your brand, but it’s also a great opportunity here to get healthy or update your look because I can guarantee that you don’t just call a photographer and say, I’m coming in in an hour to get headshots. No, no, no. This is something that you plan out maybe a month, or two weeks in advance. So if you’re anything like me, for example, I’m actually in the process of getting new headshots done soon. So I have purchased a few new outfits that match my branding. I’m going to do a little bit of a detox, right? To get nice, healthy, glowing skin. Or whatever makes you feel more confident.

Go To A Conference You Normally Wouldn’t Go To
You could also go to a conference that you normally wouldn’t go to. If you’re looking for a list of conferences, I have a whole article on this for, um, 30 different conferences for entrepreneurs to go to. So I’d recommend, you know, just looking some up and just going to one, maybe it’s local or maybe it’s in another country entirely. There’s no possible way, you go-getter you, that you’re not going to learn something new or meet somebody new.

ReDesign Your Business Cards
I’m not talking about a full rebranding here, just maybe could just redesign your business cards. You could go to Canva, you can outsource this. That’s pretty easy. Um, and again, you could, you could put your new headshot on it. You can bring these business cards to that new conference you’re going to go to, right? So these all can be combined or separated as needed.

Reward Yourself
This could go into any category, but you should reward yourself. Maybe it’s a new outfit for your headshots, a trip to that conference, or a nice piece of jewelry that becomes an heirloom. We are not going into debt here, we are creating forward positive momentum.

Set new goals
When you set new goals for your business, it gives you something to strive for and can help you to stay motivated. Make sure your goals are specific and measurable, and that they are aligned with your overall business strategy.

MEDIUM

New Channel For Your Message
5 quick factors to consider when you’re thinking about starting a new marketing channel for your business:

1. Your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your marketing? What channels do they use?
2. Your budget. How much money are you willing to spend on marketing? Some channels are more expensive than others.
3. Your goals. What do you hope to achieve with your marketing? Do you want to generate leads, drive traffic to your website, or increase sales?
4. Your competition. Who else is marketing to your target audience? What channels do they use?
5. Your resources. Do you have the time and resources to commit to a new marketing channel? Some channels require a lot of time and effort, while others are more hands-off.

Once you’ve considered these factors, you can start to narrow down your choices and choose the marketing channels that are right for your business.

Hire Interns
This is so good for so many reasons. You are going to get new ideas and fresh perspectives, and they’re gonna help you as long as you have the time to train them. Yes. Uh, but you’re gonna help them as well. You could reach out to a local university. I’ve done this with great success in the past, um, and even here, they came to work for me. And we’re not only lifelong friends now, but I’ve given them great recommendations. I’ve even had some interns who gained college credit for this. So really it’s a win-win for everybody. Just make sure you have the time for this because they’re interns, they’re going to need to be taught something and don’t you dare just make them go down the street and get you a coffee. Like, teach them to speed up their timeline for them. That’s the whole point of this.

Take A Break
Could physically take a break, like doing a mini-retirement or taking a month or two off, or taking the summer off. Not unheard of in many other countries. Also here, you could take a break from what you currently do. So even though this episode is all about getting you re-excited and igniting that passion, what if you took a break to make this happen? Maybe I just stop recording for a month to see what happens? Or definitely if you’re mental health, take a month off of social media again here, you could hire someone else out to do it if you’re afraid of that consistency. But taking a break clears a lot of the fluff out of our heads because what it’s doing is it’s forcing us to, when we come back to that, to reevaluate it, to see if we actually really enjoy doing that still.

Break Into A New Industry
A lot of times in our business, especially if we’re like 7, 8, 9, 10, 20 years in, and we have niched down, and that’s amazing. And again, I know that that works for you and you’re so consistent and that’s great, but you’re listening to this to be like, oh, yes, I niche down, but I’m just getting a little tired of my niche. So try something new and here, make it in the beginning. If you want to, you could align it with the current industry that you’re in.

For example, for 10 years I was working in the yachting and boating industry. I worked with the manufacturers – the companies that actually build these boats selling in the multi-multimillion dollar ranges. So in turn, it was luxury goods. I was used to the audience that Luxury Goods was looking for, I then broke into the hospitality industry for luxury hotels and resorts I knew the client’s mindset of who was looking for this a certain type of quality and experience. It wasn’t ‘easy’, but it made sense to go in that direction. Go into something else that you’re interested in or that kind of parallels with the current industry that you’re in that could really, really, really bring a lot of new energy into your company.

Automate Tasks That No Longer Bring You Joy
This will free up your time so you can focus on the tasks that you enjoy and that are more important to your business. There are many ways to automate tasks. You can use software, hire someone to do the tasks, or even outsource them to a virtual assistant. The best way to automate tasks will depend on the specific tasks that you need to automate and your budget. Use AI.

Create New Out Of The Box Merchandise For You Or Your Team
Company-branded swag. Classic merch – such as t-shirts, hats, and bags, is a popular gift for employees. Gifts that are related to the employee’s interests. If you know your employees well, you can give them gifts that are related to their interests. For example, if an employee loves to cook, you could give them a cookbook or a gift certificate to a cooking class. Personalized gifts or a gift basket filled with their favorite snacks or a gift card to their favorite restaurant. Sometimes, when I wear my branded hoodie and someone asks me about it I gain an immediate sense of ownership and pride.

Rewire Your Brain To Think Of Everything You Do As A Campaign
I call this the campaign brain. That way it’s not just endless. It has a specific point and time frame. I like this one a lot because it can play along nicely with seasons or months or even parallel it with a global event or holiday.

A short campaign is a marketing campaign that lasts for a short period of time, usually a few weeks or months. The goal of a short campaign is to achieve a specific goal, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or driving sales.

Here are some examples of short campaigns:

• A social media campaign to promote a new product
• An email marketing campaign to offer a discount on a product
• A paid advertising campaign to target a specific audience

Gamification:
Gamification can be a great way for small businesses to make their business fun again and engage their customers in a more playful and interactive way. Here are some ways small businesses can use gamification:

1. Rewards and points system: Small businesses can create a rewards and points system to encourage customers to come back and engage with their business. For example, a coffee shop could offer a free coffee after a certain number of visits or a discount on a purchase after a certain amount is spent.
2. Contests and challenges: Small businesses can create contests and challenges that customers can participate in to win prizes or discounts. For example, a pet store could hold a photo contest where customers submit photos of their pets for a chance to win a prize. Hold A Contest. Open it up to social channels and offer a big prize for who gets the most viral on a reel they create about your business. It’s fun to see how others view your business.
3. Scavenger hunts: Small businesses can create scavenger hunts that lead customers around their store or neighborhood, encouraging them to explore and engage with their business in a more interactive way. For example, a bookstore could create a scavenger hunt where customers have to find certain books and answer questions about them.
4. Interactive experiences: Small businesses can create interactive experiences that engage customers in a more playful way. For example, a restaurant could create a digital menu that allows customers to customize their orders and earn points for trying new items.

HEAVY

New Branding
Here I would say when you do this either update your logo. Countless companies do this every decade. And document it all – this will give you great content and allow people to be part of the journey. 

Move Physical Location
Always wanted to try a new place, that could reduce the overhead cost. This reinvigorates you, and gives you a new community, new ideas, new challenges, and new perspectives. 

Offer A New Product Or Service
After 7 years you probably have a signature offer or service. Maybe expand it, or turn it into something else. This will be you creating, marketing, and measuring it. Could be something you have been thinking about for years, Just do it.

Work With An Influencer
The global influencer marketing industry is projected to reach $22.8 billion by 2023. This growth is being driven by the increasing popularity of influencer marketing as a way to reach target audiences and generate brand awareness.

Micro-influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers) are the most popular type of influencer to work with. This is because they have a more engaged audience and are more likely to be seen as authentic by their followers. As a micro-influencer myself. Offer them something good. 10% off your product that they have to buy is not good. But 2 free products for 2 photos in exchange is better. 

This is a classic marketing strategy of ‘borrowing other people’s audiences’.

Become A Mentor
It can give you a sense of purpose. Mentoring someone can help you feel like you are making a difference in the world. It can also help you feel more connected to your community and to the people around you.

It can help you learn and grow. Mentoring someone can teach you new things and help you see the world from a different perspective. It can also help you develop your own skills and talents.

It can make you feel good about yourself. Helping someone else can make you feel good about yourself and about the world around you. It can also help you build confidence and self-esteem.

Revive A Core Nostalgic Campaign
For example, just 2 weeks ago the clothing maker Under Armour revived their “Protect This House” Campaign from the early 2000s. Im recording this episode a stone’s throw away from the Global Headquarters so thought it was fitting. 

Kevin Plank, Under Armour Founder, Executive Chairman & Brand Chief says “It Was Never A Matter Of If We Would Bring Back Protect This House, It Was When And How. Its Significance To Under Armour’s Heritage And Brand Legacy, And Sports In General, Makes It The Perfect Brand Platform To Take Under Armour Into This Next Chapter. But Its Revival Isn’t About Repeating The Past. Today’s Athletes And Their Motivations Differ Greatly From Those Who Occupied Locker Rooms 20 Years Ago And We Want To Celebrate That.”

So you see, something that you very first did – was most likely your absolute burning WHY and it can be wonderful to bring that back.

Stephen Curry, 4x NBA Champion remarks on this campaign revival “Everyone has to come back to their roots at some point. And Under Armour is going back to its roots with the revival of Protect This House, but evolving it to apply to today. Twenty years later, Protect This House is still a rallying cry that ignites a fire within athletes–it’s about believing in yourself, having a sense of pride, and pushing yourself to your limit to accomplish greatness for yourself and your team, both on and off the court.”

Can you feel their drive and determination with that one? I can. 

I’ll leave you here my friends. You just heard 25 Inspiring Ways To Reignite Your Passion For Your Business. I hope one of these sparked something within you to keep going – we need what you have to offer in this world. 

Until next time – Take care of yourself out there.